Monday, January 09, 2006

He may not look like a swinger, but...

He may not look like a swinger, but make no mistake, Samuel Alito's vote will be the swing vote that could make or break all Supreme Court decisions that come down the pike for a generation, or more, depending upon whether the geneticists are right, and can extend human life another 30 plus years. If this president has his way, and Alito makes it through the Senate, he will replace Sandra Day O'Connor who, as you know, is stepping down, and may just roll back the clock to pre-Magna Carta days when governments didn't need to rationalize torture.

Mother Nature has managed to distract us, in recent months, to a degree where the most cynical might think she was on the government's payroll. It's entirely possible to have forgotten that Alito has expressed his opposition to Roe v. Wade while a Justice Department lawyer, and that he has maintained that the Constitution doesn't provide for a woman's right to choose.Arguably, his views on constitutional powers of the presidency are even more terrifying.

As if the executive branch isn't hyperactive enough, with Alito on the Supreme Court, we may yet see carte blanche issued for invasions of other sovereign states, as well as the single gravest threat to checks and balances imaginable. Moreover, what we don't know about Mr. Alito may pose a greater threat than what we do know; e.g., what is his stand on domestic spying? compliance with FISA? National Security Letters? civil rights inroads we, as a nation, have made over the past 50 odd years?

Fast forwarding, if you have any doubt whatsoever as to the longterm impact appointing Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court will have, then go to your telephone right now, and call those senators who depend upon your vote for their payday. Below are names and numbers for senators in three states, or go to: www.senate.gov to find your representative in the Senate. Do phone, and ask that (s)he exercise restraint, yes the kind of restraint often attributed to this nominee, and not vote for Samuel Alito. A vote for this nominee is a vote against the progressive forces of history.

Or find your senator: www.senate.gov; In the immortal words of a former president, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country;" do it, go to your phones, and call! This may be the last chance we have to make our votes count for generations. History is watching you. Don't let her down!